Bid to clear passenger backlog

Thursday, 23 December 2010

Passengers wait for buses in the snow at Dublin airport

Airlines have continued clearing the backlog of weather-weary passengers from Dublin Airport as the Christmas deadline edged closer.

With a respite in the snow showers over the capital on Wednesday, the airport remained open throughout the day but festive travellers still faced disruption from other snow-blighted airports across Europe.

With thousands of passengers caught up in the backlog Aer Lingus is to increase its capacity to Madrid, Frankfurt and London Heathrow today and has hired an extra aircraft to operate the New York route.

Ryanair is laying on extra flights to a range of destinations, including Poland, Brussels, Scotland, Paris and London Stansted.

But passengers face further potential disruption with Met Eireann warning of wintry showers in eastern counties.

Motorists have faced treacherous conditions with freezing fog and compacted ice and snow adding to the travel misery. Fresh stocks of salt arrived in Dublin Port on Tuesday night and were distributed to local authorities. Between 2000 and 5000 tonnes have been used every day during the freezing conditions.

But the Labour Party said more needs to be done to clear icy footpaths.

Joanna Tuffy, Dublin south-west TD, said: "It is vital that we carry out path cleaning in housing estates, to churches, local shops as well as housing complexes where elderly people live. Footpaths to hospitals should also be cleared as negotiating paths to hospital if you're injured or unwell is treacherous."

Temperatures will remain a bone-chilling minus 6C to plus 2C today, and dropping as low as minus 16C tonight over snow fields in parts of the west and north.

The Irish National Teachers Organisation said the Department of Education will hold talks with the teaching unions and management in January over the impact of the freezing conditions on schools, as hundreds were forced to close.